Description
The modern classic of DIY urban self-reliance--grow food, raise chickens, and build a working homestead in the city.
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen is a widely read handbook
for city-based self-sufficiency, offering practical guidance on growing food,
preserving harvests, reducing household waste, and building small-scale systems
for urban living. Written for readers without access to rural land, the book
shows how apartments, patios, and small backyards can be transformed into
productive spaces for gardening, food preparation, and energy awareness.
This expanded and updated edition includes new projects and
revised instructions across a wide range of topics: container gardening, food
preservation and fermentation, composting, chicken keeping, greywater use, and
non-toxic household cleaning. Step-by-step projects and illustrations make the
techniques accessible to beginners while still useful to experienced DIY
practitioners. The book also situates these skills within the broader urban
homesteading movement, providing context and resources for readers interested
in sustainable living and local food culture.
Blending instruction with cultural context, The Urban
Homestead has become a reference point for readers interested in home food
production, sustainability, and practical self-reliance within urban
environments. It appeals to gardeners, homesteaders, and anyone seeking to
reduce dependence on industrial food and household systems.
A foundational title for readers of urban gardening, DIY
sustainability, and modern homesteading.
"A delightfully readable and very useful guide..." -- BoingBoing
"...the contemporary bible on the subject." -- The New York Times
Learn how to:
- Grow food on a patio or balcony
- Preserve or ferment food and make yogurt and cheese
- Compost with worms
- Keep city chickens
- Divert your grey water to your garden
- Clean your house without toxins
- Guerilla garden in public spaces
- Create the modern homestead of your dreams
